Calamity's Magnet
by ravenclawfever
Summary: Cassiopeia Malfoy likes to stir trouble, but what happens when she plays with fire and is set ablaze? second gen. JamesPotterxOC TeddyxLily LouisxOC ScorpiusxRose
1. But where have they gone?

**New story! (cue applause in my head). I wasn't intending on starting a new fic anytime soon, what with the other two I am currently still writing, but this turned up quite unexpectedly. I shall explain: I was perusing Tumblr late one evening, when I came across a picture of a girl (the link will be posted on my profile) and she looked like so much of a Malfoy that I took out my notebook and began scribbling down notes and plots and BAM, Cassiopeia Malfoy was born. If you've read my Silver/Draco stories then you'll soon find out that Cassi isn't nearly as tame as Silver - which I'm so very excited about. But I digress, on with the first chapter of my newest venture!**

**And if you want the gist of what Cassi's like (superficially), I encourage you listen to **Everybody loves me by One Republic**. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own the lovely world J.K. Rowling has created for us.**

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><p><strong>but where have they gone?<strong>

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><p>Cassiopeia Malfoy sat under the alcove in her spacious bedroom, the chair was black velvet with a white wooden trim. She liked black and white mostly due to the contrast and the finite difference between the two colors. Straightforward and neat, that was how she liked things. Outside, the peacocks were lazily engaged in a promenade around the garden. They were lovely to look at, with shining feathers in royal blue and hues of greens, but the idea of having them in a garden was ridiculous. It was gaudy and her parents seized any opportunity to show their wealth without actually exposing the piles of money themselves. Although, her older brother Scorpius had told her that the peacocks were some sort of Malfoy tradition. They had been there for generations, he'd said. Cassiopeia couldn't understand why at first, but with one look at her grandfather she could see the painful history of her family written into the wrinkles on his face and she never dared to ask. She'd heard her parents talking about how he had never been the same since the second wizarding war.<p>

In truth, she had heard horrors about her grandfather from her classmates and books. The quiet old man he was today had seemed to have left his mark in history, but her parents never wanted to talk about it when she asked so eventually, she stopped asking - stopped wondering.

She heard the doorknob click open and footsteps but kept her gaze fixed on the garden.

"What are you staring at?" a cool voice drawled near her.

"The peacocks." she said with exaggerated patience. It was obvious wasn't it?

Her brother made a small noise of irritation before sitting opposite of her. "I could strangle you, you know."

The corners of her pink lips twitched, "I don't know what you're talking about." But she did know. She had travelled into his room earlier in the day while he was eating breakfast to plant the very trap herself: a string of aviatomobiles that would launch itself at a victim at the detection of movement. They were conveniently placed beside the door.

"Revenge is drawing near Cassi."

She rolled her gray eyes, "You _always_ say that."

"Because it gets nearer and nearer as time passes." he said, trying not to laugh.

She grinned."Right." She looked at him. Her older brother, the one she looked up to and trusted more than anyone else in the world. "Have you packed yet?"

He flounced his shoulders, "Just finished."

"Me too."

Today was September 1st and the train for Hogwarts was meant to leave in under two hours. Soon, the maid would come in and gather their things and load up in front of their chimmeney, as it had been done for the past five years on this very day (six for Scorpius) and her parents may or may not be there to wish them farewell.

As if on cue, there was a knock on the door to which Scorpius responded with an invitation to enter, and Jane appeared. Her thin brown hair was tied up into a bun, and her plain brown dress was stained with something yellow. The cheeriest bit of her outfit apart from her smile. Jane was always happy and despite her circumstances, Cassiopeia couldn't help but feel that she was happier than she was most of the time.

"Janie." she said, "Where's father?"

The woman, who was busy picking up the black boots Cassiopeia had left by the door, froze before diligently continuing her task, slower this time. "I believe he's gone out, dear." she was by the closet now, "Early this morning."

Cassiopeia's eyes flickered, the only evidence of her disappointment, an unknowing act to anyone…but Scorpius. Her face was vacant again, void of all emotions. It hurt him to see her like this and he always tried to change her, to change the unwillingness to _feel._ After years of trying, she was still the same.

"You still haven't packed that?" he asked incredulously, pointing at the wrinkled pile of black and green that had fallen off the side of her bed. "What are you expecting to wear once we'd arrived?" then he added snidely, "To borrow the robes of a Gryffindor again?"

She stood, casting him a playful glare and picked it up. "That was just once, Scor. Don't get your panties in a twist."

It was her third year when that happened. She was in such a hurry, and her parents were in a fight that morning. She was only thirteen and she hated listening to them yelling. It made her so nervous. When the announcement came on the train to change into the school robes, she had searched everywhere for hers but couldn't find them. She'd later find out through a letter from Jane that she had left it back home. But as a quick remedy, she had travelled down along the tight corridors and in between compartments asking for an extra. Naturally, she had asked the Slytherins first but only returned to her brother empty-handed.

One of her closest friends, Louis Weasley had told her that his cousin had more than one - but it was Gryffindor. Desperate, she agreed, knowing that she could have her own robes mailed to school as soon as she'd arrived. He took her into the brightest area in the entire train, filled almost entirely with gingers. The four of them had their heads together in conversation when Louis knocked on the door and they peered out through the window at him, all smiles. She recognized the girl that stood first. Her name was Dominique and she was a Ravenclaw a few years ahead of her. She was also Louis's sister and never seemed to treat Cassi the way she treated others. She wasn't exactly unfriendly, more like made sure to keep her distance.

"Hello you two." she said smiling, her copper-colored eyes travelling between the pair. "What brings you over to our compartment?"

Louis rolled his eyes. She was obviously making fun of him for preferring to sit with Cassiopeia on the train. "Cassi's left her robes at home. D'you think she can borrow the extra Rose brought? Only for the welcome dinner."

"You're kidding." she said flatly. "Wouldn't the Slytherins like..kill you in your sleep if you showed up wearing a Gryffindors robes?"

"Of course not." Louis retorted.

"I wouldn't rule that out that possibility just yet, Louis." Cassi added teasingly.

The other red-heads were quiet, curiously peeking up at the blonde that had come with Louis. Two of them had fresh face, laced with adolescent innocence. His cousins, Rose and Albus, were both starting their first year then while Victoire, his sister, was ending her last.

Victoire was blonde and tall, beautiful in all respects. She was the envy of all the girls at school, and the object of affection for all the boys. She rummaged through Rose's trunk, whispering something to her with a small smile, and then stood behind her sister, easily towering over her.

"Here you go Cassi." she said pleasntly, "Louis will have it back after dinner, wont you?"

Louis nodded, "Yeah, thanks a lot Vic. You too, Rose." he added and walked past his sisters to pick the little girl up and spin her around. She laughed and it sounded like raindrops hitting against the petals of a flower on a lush spring day. Cassi remembered her to be the sweetest little thing.

Albus had big black glasses perched upon his small, straight nose. He looked somewhat older than what an eleven year old should look, but the way his glasses kept haphazardly slipping down his nose lead her think it was just by appearance.

Of course that was just once and she wouldn't ever let it happen again. Scorpius took the trunk from her hand and motioned towards the door. She led the way, with Jane behind them, down the candlelit corridor. There weren't any windows nearby, so it was always dark by here, even in the sunniest of days. It was one of things she didn't like about her own house. There was always an unexplainable sinisterness lingering about, deep within the wood-paneled walls. The faces of Malfoys before them stared back at her, another reason why she hated this particular corridor yet it was the only way out of her room and into the main part of the house, and she ignored pointedly ignored them. Her great-great grandmother asked Scorpius about the weather, to which he replied amiably and told her it was cloudy with a high chance of rain. She sighed, muttering something about how she would never see a sunny day again before the staircase reared. The entrance hall was all stones, with a luxurious evergreen carpet lining the greater half of the floor. The high ceilings pointed upwards, meeting in the middle with a golden chain hanging a large chandelier. The lit candles from there provided more light, and so did the windows that Jane had opened once morning dawned.

A small mewl came from her left.

"Pumpkin!" she called out, urging the purring cat forward.

"I don't understand why you picked that horrid name for the poor creature." Scorpius commented as he watched the tabby cat cheerily join them, giving his leg a good rub. He cringed, shaking him away.

"Stop it." She said smiling, picking the cat up in her arms and cradling it. "And I was only seven years old. It was the year I had that odd affinity with pumpkin pie, remember?"

He nodded, as if vaguely digging through his mind for that year. "So you thought the cat was good enough to eat?"

"Of course. I've only been planning to cook it after all these years." She kissed it's fluffy forehead, "Yum."

Scorpius made a face. Jane was already by the fireplace, her hands searching the mantelpiece for the bag of floo powder. "Now." She began, "You two be careful when you arrive on the platform, you know it gets crowded. Just walk through and board the train, right away. Do not dawdle, otherwise you'll miss it." Her hand closed around the velvety bag, "Oh and Cassi, you've got your robes don't you?"

Cassi sighed, "Yes, Jane, I've got my robes. Scorpius placed them in my trunk himself."

He crossed his arms over his chest, putting no efforts towards hiding the self-important smirk on his face. "Honestly, she would've lost her head if it weren't for me."

Cassi nudged him in the ribs to which he scowled. Now, it was her turn to smile.

"Alright, alright!" interrupted Jane, pulling the siblings into a bone-crushing hug, "You both write to me once you arrive to the school." Her eyes warningly set on Scorpius. "_Don't forget."_

He put his arms out in front of him in feigned surrender. "I won't, promise."

Her dark brown eyes were still doubtful, but his answer had been good enough and so she stepped aside and threw the powder out in front of her. For a fleeting moment, Cassi thought of her mum and dad. Where had they gone? Did they know that it would be months before they saw their children again and _still_ hadn't bothered to come say goodbye the way Jane had?But she was only kidding herself. Of course they knew, they were just too busy wrapped up in their own affairs to notice.

She felt Scorpius take hold of her hand, the only thread of stability she has ever known, while she grabbed on to Pumpkin's cage with the other. A puff of green smoke exploded all around them, and she heard Jane call out, "King's Cross Station." Then, her body was suddenly melting and shattering all at once with nothing but green around them with the exception of a stray fireplace appearing every now and then, but it was all so fast that she barely had time to notice before she was sucked into a vortex of flashing lights, her grip on her brothers hand tightening, and out into the humid, dampness of the train station.

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><p><strong>AN: If you like my story enough to favorite it, I would **_love_** if you passed along a review first! (: What are your thoughts on the next generation of Malfoy children?**


	2. En route

**En route**

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><p>Jane was right. If they wouldn't have gotten there when they had they would've been swallowed up by the gaggle of students and their family members. Cassi tried to ignore the family members bit. It wasn't that her parents had never come with them. They had just been away on September 1st of last year, and so it seemed this year too. Although a part of her gathered that they might've been but a few houses away and could've easily disapparated to see them off and Jane was just trying to make them feel more at ease.<p>

Pumpkin was hissing from behind her, she never did like being crammed into small spaces with so many strangers. Cassi held on to the trunk tighter and pushed her way through a group of boys that were busily staring into a compartment full of Gryffindor girls; one in particular hardly noticed when Cassi accidentally hit him on the shoulder.

"Oh, great. Thanks a lot!"

Or apparently, he had. Cassi looked up, apology at the ready or maybe even a snide remark, but recognized the face immediately. It was Louis Weasley. He was tall – on the slight side – with bright blue eyes and a funny grin (or at least she thought it was), and just the sight of it now made her giggle albeit unwillingly. She came up beside him, standing on her toes to look over the other boys.

"And which one's your favorite, hm?" she mocked.

His eyes narrowed to slits and frowned. "I don't have to choose do I? Can't I just have some fun with all of them?"

"I'm afraid you do." She strang him along. Louis and her would have the most bizarre conversations sometimes, and she loved instigating them. It was better than talking about real things sometimes.

There was quiet deliberation clouding his thin face. He was part veela, and it was obvious from the moment you set eyes on him. So was Victoire, but Dominique was harder to gauge because of her red hair and round face.

But on the subject of girls, they all did seem to love Louis. Ever since she had known him, he had had at least three different girlfriends a year since his second year. Of course the earlier ones were silly, really. Just mere hands holding and kisses on the cheeks. It wasn't until last year that he had really had his first snog and told her all about it. Then he became more intimate with girls and began sleeping with them. Their conversations on his love life weren't as frequent since then, but every now and then he would ask her to chip in for some advice.

"Well then, I'll start with the brunette just there." He pointed at a pretty girl with short inky hair and dark brown eyes. "Then I'll move on to the blonde, just to let them know I'm not partial to hair color."

"Very good strategy, Louis." Said Cassi in a tone of amusement. "Now how about you come along with _this_ blonde," referring to herself, "and hold on to Pumpkins cage. She's getting a bit restless." He made a sound of protest but she handed it over to him anyways, "Now, if she claws you and draws blood – it's not my fault."

He didn't take her threat seriously, but the moment the cat stretched out its front paws, he held the cage at a slight distance from his chest.

"Just for safety precautions." He told her quietly as they walked.

Scorpius let out a hoot of laughter. "Wanker."

"Am not." He retaliated, quite poorly.

The three of them continued walking through when Louis said,"Oh hold on" and opened a compartment door.

Inside, she recognized the two children she had seen years ago. Little, sweet Rose was not so little anymore and Albus's thickly rimmed glasses no longer slid off his nose. Lily was there too, a frizzy ginger in her second year; but then there was someone new with them, and Cassi began to wonder how many children there were in the Potter/Weasley clan. They seemed to sprout from the ground.

"Who's cat is that?" asked the eldest of the Potter children, James, from a hidden place off to the right of the sliding door.

Louis looked around at first, not realizing what he was referring to, when Cassi tapped his shoulder and pointed at the cage in his hand. "Oi!" he exclaimed, "It's Cassi's. Don't you remember it tried to eat Rose's rat last year?"

"Oh." James made a face. He looked past his cousin at the two Malfoy children. Cassiopeia insouciantly stood beside him, her pale blonde hair reaching a few inches past her shoulders and completely at odds with her uncommonly dark eyebrows slightly raised over the striking gray in her eyes. He had noticed her before, whether it was because she was around Louis or simply because, well, she was attractive. But it was mostly because she had a knack for causing quite some trouble at school with a few other students.

"James wouldn't remember." Supplied Scorpius, sidling into view. "That was when he was trying to flirt with that bird, whatever her name is…and set his sleeve on fire!"

James looked quite put out. "I wasn't _trying._"

"You were, very poorly might I add. What was her name?" Scorpius said again, rubbing his chin.

"Nichola Knott!" exclaimed Louis, "Wasn't it?"

"Nichola?" echoed Cassi, "_Our_ Nichola?"

Louis nodded, laughing. "The very same."

Cassi raised her eyebrows, looking at him with feigned sympathy. "James, you bloody well know you don't have a chance with any decent girl."

Louis and Scorpius broke out in a collaborative guffaw. James just stared at her with a mixture of amusement and indignation. They've only spoken a handful of times and their conversations were always short, snarky retorts. Her snappy words failed to faze him. Of course, the fact that Nichola and him had quite the snog behind a banister in the sixth floor corridor later that night helped, too. He wouldn't say it out loud though, especially not in front of Lily, Hugo, and Rose.

"Come off it ,Malfoy."

She gave him a one-sided smirk. "Never, Potter."

Louis took a seat beside Rose, uncremeniously deciding the length of their visit was to be longer than expected. The Malfoy siblings weren't pleased.

"And what have you been up to over the summer?" he asked her, the intensity of his green eyes alight with instigation, "Hiding walking sticks from the elderly? Purposefully holding your leg out and tripping people in Diagon Alley?"

"Tactful analysis, Potter. Just so happens, that's exactly how I spent my summer – only of course, when there wasn't any candy to steal from children." Her eyes darted up thoughtfully, "And my tripping pedestrians wasn't constrained to just Diagon Alley."

While the other boys laughed, James didn't. Instead, he was studying her – sizing her up. He was quite the prankster himself, but her abilities may have far surpassed his. Admittedly, he would never, under any circumstance, confess this sort of revelation.

"Slytherins: always up to no good. Mark my words, wee ones." He said in a warning tone to the younger children.

Albus piped in first, "I'm only two years younger than you James. Stop acting like it's more."

"A lot happens in two years, Albus. It makes you wise and…quick." His hand darted out to Albus's side and tickled him, causing the boy to squeal in giggles.

"Stop!" he begged, still gasping for air, "I beg you!"

James considered this. "Well." He drawled, "Since you've begged."

Rose abruptly dropped the book she was reading to her lap. "You two are so annoying."

Lily tucked a strand of vibrant red hair behind her small ear, "_I'm_ the one that has to put up with it all day and night back home."She was the youngest of the Potter's and consequently was often teased, but it was only out of love. James and Albus would do anything for their little sister.

"Are you two just going to stand there for the entire ride?" Louis asked.

Cassi shot him a look, taking the handle of her trunk and, with great effort, lifting it up to put it on the shelf above them.

"Give it here." said James, much to her surprise. "You look like you're going to break a limb or something."

"No, I've got it." She said stubbornly, almost letting him take it from her before he had decided to add on the last bit.

He was already on his feet and without another word, grabbed the trunk by its middle and reached over his head. "There."

For the first time in her life, Cassi was speechless. Her mind dug for a comeback, but nothing came. Finally she said, "Right. Thanks."

Scorpius put his away as well, sitting across from his sister. "Louis, do you want me to put that cat away?"

"They're bonding." Cassi said teasingly. "Leave them be."

Louis stared back and forth between the cat and the pair of siblings. Standing together, Louis just looked like another Malfoy, but when he was around his real family, their differences were quite distinct. He hadn't inherited the Malfoy's high cheekbones and hard gaze. His face was kinder, like his father's, and as graceful as his mother's.

Hugo's big brown eyes were practically tearing with longing to play with Pumpkin. Louis seemed to notice this and gently passed it along. "I think he likes you better."

And it appeared he was right because not a moment later, Pumpkin was snuggled against his stomach like he and Hugo had been friends for years.

It was a sight to behold, the one of three different families sharing the same compartment. The decadent pure-blood lineage of the Malfoy's having a friendly conversation with the Weasley's, who were once considered to be blood traitors. But even more remarkable than that, was how Scorpius and James – their father's being bitter rivals upon first meeting – had gotten along so well when they had been paired up in Transfigurations their first year and had remained friends ever since then.

The rest of the journey was spent in conversation, mostly between the boys (Albus, James, Louis and Scorpius). Rose kept her nose buried deep in her book and Lily would admiringly strike up banter with Cassiopeia. She had been pestering James all summer about her, since Louis and the rest of his cousins had spent the entire summer in France, forcing him to think about her more than he felt comfortable doing.

"But she's so lovely and witty and smart!"she would tell him. Those three words repeated so often they had lost meaning.

"I barely know her, Lils. _You're _the one that's in the same house as she is." He would answer much to her discontent.

"Do you think she'd want to be my friend?" she would then ask, ignoring him. He always smiled at this, wondering who on earth wouldn't want to befriend sweet, little Lily. "Without a doubt."

James found his eyes unwillingly drifting off in her direction at times. He stopped after a little, after she had caught him and he had to look away, positively horrified. And then there was the one time she stood up when Nichola Knott knocked on the window. The other girl's cheeks reddened when he coyly smiled at her, earning himself a distasteful glance from Cassi before she shut the door behind her.

"You're sitting with James?" she asked, her heart-shaped face forming a smile. "Why?"

Cassi exhaled. "Louis apparently decided the seat arrangement for the rest of the ride without consulting me first."

The brunette scrunched her nose. "Unfortunate."

"You've saved me, really."

"Admittedly, I thought you'd forgotten about me once I heard Poppy talking about how you were with them."

Cassi laughed derisively, "Poppy's a prick. I'll hex her to the next century if I have to."

Nichola's chocolate-colored eyes widened. "You know you're not allowed to use magic on other students."

Cassi stared at her for a long moment. "I know that, Nic. It was obviously a joke, but I can't lie and say it isn't a hidden desire of mine…"

Now her eyes narrowed to slits and Cassi had already learned that pushing Nichola would only bring out her nasty temper. "Forget I said anything then." Cassi surrendered yet still remained in good spirits. Especially since she was no longer surrounded by Gryffindors and could feel the uncharacteristic desire to help a person in need slowly slide off her like a raindrop would off the petals of a flower.

"There's a wacksput, just there." Lorcan Scamander approached, his eyes wide and filled with wonder at a world he could only see.

"Is there?" Cassi turned in a full circle, "Must've missed it."

Nichola didn't approve of the way Cassi baited people. But it was hard to say she wasn't good at it.

Lorcan lazily observed the girls before his face lights up. "You look different, Nic."

This took her off guard. "How?" she sputtered.

His eyes shut momentarily. Cassi risks shooting a coy look of speculation at Nichola before regaining false interest in her face once the blue of his eyes reappeared. "Irritable. You seem more irritable than last year."

Too stunned to respond, Nichola left an unspoken word hanging off her parted lips.

Cassi laughed, albeit making it seem neutral rather than having it aimed at Nichola. "That's just…" she broke off with another trail of laughter until her attention fell elsewhere, "Oh look! Jensen's over there."

She grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her forward.

"Can you _belive_ what he said to me?" she asked in outrage.

Cassi lead her on, reaching the other side of the corridor. "Do you think Nichola seems more irritable than usual?"

Jensen smirked with his messy, black hair falling over his eyes. "Actually –"

"Piss off." Interrupted Nichola, dangerously close to unleashing the nasty beast otherwise known as her short temper. She glared at Cassi, "You too."

Jensen, probably the most level-headed of the group draped an arm around her shoulders. "Nic, you're perfect the way you are. There, no harm done."

Nichola's shoulders tensed, but then she warmed up to him. "Fine."

Cassi spent the rest of the trip on that side of the train. Until a woman's voice boomed into the train to inform them of their very near arrival to Hogwarts and it would be due time to change into the appropriate uniform.

Cassi begrudgingly made her way back to her trunk. There wasn't anyone in there. She fleetingly wondered where they had gone to, but it was shortly outlived at the opportunity of being alone. Her toes pointed and she stretched her middle all up to her arms, her hand clasping at the handle. Pumpkin was in his cage on the floor, having recognized her and now mewling for her attention. She called out to him, to which he gingerly responded by rubbing up against the black metal. She gave the bag a tug, and the trunk unceremoniously falls, toppling over her.

Clothes came spilling out, all over the floor. She cursed under her breath, reluctantly getting to her knees to start stuffing it back in. Just then, the door slides open as she's throwing a purple shirt back inside, with unnecessary force, and her face whips up.

Albus is wearing a funny expression on his face and it only upsets her further because she doesn't like being laughed at; and he definitely looked like he was laughing at her. He ruffles his ginger hair before joining her on the floor. "Should I even ask?"

She's already concentrated on the remaining clothes. "Probably not."

The rest is cleaned up in silence. Cassi throws her robe on, noting that Albus was already clad in his.

"Give me a hand, Gryffindor?" she asks him, grabbing one side and waiting for him to grab the other before tossing it back up on the overhead shelf with enough ease to make Cassi jealous.

"You've grown so much from the first time I saw you." she said, not really understanding why the words were stumbling out. "What year are you in now? Third?"

"Fourth." He corrected, looking at her through his glasses.

"Fourth." She contemplated. "Wow." He was only a year younger than her, but to her the gap seemed much larger. He carried an adolescent innocence that neither she nor Scorpius ever had the privilege to feel.

"The others were already on their way out." He announced, "I was just coming back for Pumpkin. I didn't know if anyone would get him, and he looked sort of…forgotten."

For some reason, the way he said it tugged at her heartstrings. It was so honest, without the slightest hint of anything but pure concern for Pumpkin, that she decided Albus was too nice for his own good.

"Thank you…for coming back."

He found himself short for words - Cassiopeia wasn't exactly known for loosely expending gratitude – but managed a curt nod before walking out.

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><p><strong>AN: Thank you for reviewing! I'd love to see more this time around (:**


	3. Poppy the Snake

**Poppy the Snake**

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><p>The great hall is brimming with students, all four tables filled and a display of four different colors and four different classifications of children from the ages of eleven to seventeen. Cassi and Scorpius are sitting across from each other with Louis on one side of her and Nichola on the other along with the other Slytherins. The first years are just about finished being sorted and now's when Louis eagerly leans forward in his seat, across her back, to watch as the very last student is called.<p>

"Hugo Weasley."

The young boy Pumpkin had taken a rare and immediate fancy to clumsily climbed up the steps and onto the stool sitting sorely in the middle of the raised floor. Professor Longbottom placed the sorting hat on his head, gentle and with great care, and stood back. Hugo's blue eyes scanned the room as his hands nervously grabbed the fabric around his leg. The boy looked about ready to throw up, when after its usual allotted time of deliberation, the sorting hat announced that he was a Gryffindor. Louis sat upright again, the anticipation over.

Louis and Lily were the only two in their family that had been sorted into Slytherin. Both his sisters were Ravenclaw, and most of his cousins were Gryffindor. His father hadn't really appeared cross when he told him the news; but it was obvious he wasn't expecting it. His mother, having attended a school in France that didn't split their students into houses, was at odds with his reaction. Eventually it was his mothers reassurance that the worth and character of a person wasn't determined by where a hat had sorted him, but rather from his actions and heart, that made him content with his placement.

"It's a good thing some of them came out brunette." Cassi mumbled, leaning her shoulder against his, "I've never seen so much red hair in my life."

She was right of course, because the color was so bright and alacritous that it was hard not to notice it, so he chuckled. Cassi always knew what to say and when to say it. He had always told her it was a gift and she would of course agree and strut on about how she's a gift to the world but it was all a part of her charm. Half the stuff she would say was bullshit and the other was complete honesty; it just took some time of getting to know her to be able to sort out which was which.

"Congratulations to our first years." Professor McGonagall's voice cut through the applause and chatter, silencing it all. "And welcome back to another fine year at Hogwarts. I trust you've all enjoyed your summer and are eagerly awaiting to curiously peruse the new material awaiting you all this term." There were some sounds of protests coming from the Slytherins (they always had something to add on to a professor's speech) and the Ravenclaws looked back to see where the noise was coming from, shooting stormy glares in their general direction.

"Now we have the usual warnings on entering the Forbidden Forest. No one is allowed in there, unless under the direct supervision of a Professor." Professor McGonagall wrapped her hands on the edges of the podium, seeming more wrinkled and worn than last year. "There's been reports of vampire activity as of late – and although we have nothing but amiability towards them – I heed you all to be extremely careful when wandering about the grounds."

A mixture of fear-filled gasps and excited murmurs swayed the students from their silence. The Headmistress tapped on the side of the podium with her wand. "Now, this is nothing to get riled up about. The situation will soon be resolved and we will regain normality. But for now, keep your wits about," her voice took on a slight cheerfulness,"and enjoy the rest of your feast!"

Out of nowhere, plates and plates of food appeared on the tables. Most were already filling their plates, but Cassi was still dwelling on what McGonagall had said.

"You know, it'd be quite an adventure if we found them." she suggested, and unbidden challenge hidden beneath the words.

Scorpius looked up from his food, "What're you suggesting Cassi?"

Lorcan and Lysander Scamander leaned their heads in closer. It was one of the few times they would will themselves to focus – whenever they were amidst the precipice of a scheme.

Her shoulders rose in an uncommital shrug, "Nothing, really. It was just an idea."

Her brother scooped mashed potatoes onto his fork, leaving it, but the twins had other ideas.

"We can plan it." Said Lorcan. "My mum's got a whole bunch of information on vampires."

Lysander nod his head in ascent. "Plenty. We'll see what we can do."

"What's this? Planning something without me?" asked Poppy Zabini, poking her head out from Lysander's side.

Cassi unconsciously grit her teeth at the high pitch of her damned voice. The pair of them had gotten into more rows than she could count, yet she somehow managed to remain a part of their small group of racketeers. It was quite unfortunate, indeed.

The light toffee of her skin hid the angry red flush of her cheeks. "What is it then?"

"Steady on Zabini, nothing yet." Louis interjected, not paying her much attention because he was reaching across Cassi for another biscuit.

Nichola and Poppy actually got along, why and how were the questions that baffled Cassi but she wouldn't hold it against Nichola. After all, Nichola was the better half of them two. She was more sincere and caring than Cassi. So it was expected when she smiled and genuinely said, "We wont ever leave you out Poppy, don't worry about that."

Cassi mumbled something that sounded like "speak for yourself", earning herself a painful nudge in the ribcage.

The food was soon all gone and students began retiring back to their common rooms. The Hufflepuffs were let out first, in order to avoid a gaggle of lost first years, and then the Ravenclaws. Louis twisted in his seat, catcalling over to James Potter who echoed the sentiment. Cassi whipped her head around to see that he was doing an amusing little dance, sending the Gryffindors closest to him in an uproarious laughter. Louis laughed too. Cassi narrowed her eyes but he didn't seem to notice.

And then once James was settling down and getting back into his seat, he caught sight of her, sending an overly-confident wink in her direction. She glared and went back to face her brother, who luckily hadn't noticed it. But then why did she care whether anyone noticed or not? It wasn't like she _cared_ about James Potter. He was just an attention-grabbing, loathsome little prick.

(_Right_?)

The Slytherins were the last to leave, she made sure to avoid the Gryffindors as they walked past, and the Prefects took charge of rounding up the enthusiastic first years. Cassi fell in queue behind Louis, grabbing on to the back of his robes so as not lose her place, and they all bee-lined down to the dungeons; the dampness making her cheeks flush red with heat.

"Password is 'cunning'." announced the male prefect.

One after the other, they piled into the common room. It was from ceiling to floor covered in green. A darker green on the curtains, a lighter shade on the walls and a bronzed chandelier hanging over the fireplace adorned with long, slithering candlebras that looked like snakes. A pair of second years were sitting on the largest and best situated couch in front of the fire; it was Cassis' favorite.

"Out, or I'll turn your skin purple." she said in a very casual tone, as if there were nothing threatening about it.

The boy's eyes widened to the size of saucers, and with much haste, the girl took the boys hand and ran off.

"Brutal." commented Scorpius, landing on the seat beside her.

She shrugged, "You would've done the same."

Admist the damp darkness of the dungeons, the fire provided the only bit of natural light. Candles were lit and table lamps were on while some stayed behind to catch up with friends and others headed up to their respective dormitories.

A boy approached."Didn't see you two earlier."

Her eyes drifted from the glowing flames to a lean, average-sized boy. His presence erupted the same reaction it always did and her leg began to anxiously bounce up and down.

"Didn't see you either." Scorpius said with a smirk and motioned to the seat. "Sit down!"

Benjamin Dates laughed and fell in between them. She gave way, sliding to the right a bit, and made a plain effort at keeping her leg still. She had known Benjamin for as long as Scorpius had because he would spend a few weeks during the summer back at the manor. He was his best friend. His very attractive best friend.

"Alright Cassi?" he asked, briefly patting her thigh. Her throat went dry.

"Er - yeah, brilliant."

He looked at her with dark green eyes, "Good." His face stretched into a smile, "Am glad to see we made it through this year unscathed."

He was referring to the Peruvian instant darkness powder that Lorcan had accidently spilled at the beginning of last year's term. Whlie they had full intentions of using it later in the year, that time it really was unintentional. It had slipped out of his pocket when he was reaching for a box of sweets and sent the entire hall into a puff of black smoke. The Headmistress wasn't at all happy and since Lorcan seemed to be too frightened to admit to it (he had been chastised by his mother for having been causing so much trouble lately) Cassi felt like she had no other choice but come forth and take the blame.

"Stupid move on Cassi's part I'm afraid." said Scorpius.

"It was either that or risk being interrogated for the rest of the night." She parried, while noticing Poppy and Nichola with their heads together in secrecy off in a corner. "Nic." She called out. "You going to bed soon?"

"Oh, yeah probably should." she decided before breaking off the previous conversation.

{+}

Nichola was settling into the bed closest to Cassi. The same arrangement they had shared since their first year. Their first night at Hogwarts, Poppy had been teasing Nichola about her frizzy brown curls all day and although it wasn't her battle to fight because everyone had seemed to have been quite taken by the Malfoy girl, she couldn't sit back and watch it anymore. Partly because Poppy irritated her to shreds, they had the unfortunate circumstance of their parents being friends and she took after her blasted mother, Pansy. So it was when Poppy pushed Nichola's things off of the bed beside her, with the outlandish presumption that she and Cassi would remain unscathed after an entire term together, that Cassi punched her in the face with small and fragile fists that wouldn't have hurt anyone else were it not that they were about the same size.

The look on Poppy's face that night made the two weeks of detention after that completely worthwhile.

And therefore, lay the precise reason why Cassi couldn't seem to come to terms with their sudden and blossoming friendship.

"Good night Cassi." Nichola said beneath heavy eyelids.

"Til' the morning, Nic."

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><p><strong>AN: Sorry this took so long! These past two weeks have been buzzing with school and finals and work. Thank you for all your reviews! :D **


	4. Lists

**Lists**

* * *

><p>To say that coming to Hogwarts felt like home was understatement for James Potter. He practically had his entire family there with him. That morning, Albus had come knocking on the door of his dormitory with a teary-eyed Rose.<p>

"She's mad at me." He told his big brother, eyes wide and harmless. "Why is she mad at me?"

"How am I supposed to know?" he responded with a yawn.

Rose had her arms delicately crossed over her chest. Her face red and freckles dancing on her round cheeks. "He knows what he did."

Albus whipped his head around, "No! No I don't." he was on the brink of desperation.

She rolled her big blue eyes at him. "Git."

Albus threw his arms out, looking at James pleadingly.

"Right." James said, bored. "How about you tell me what he did then Rosie?"

Rose shot a coy glance at Albus, pushing him away. "He called me a bookworm."

James blinked. "You _are _a bookworm, Rose."

"But he doesn't have to tell me in front of…" she broke off, looking to her sides, "Robbie."

James wasn't sure he could handle all of this at once. "Robbie McLaggen?"

She didn't answer, but the way her hands were fidgeting with her skirt was enough of a hint. "Albus, please come back over here…._before I hang myself._" He added the last part in his head. "Stop being a git, calling Rose out in front of boys she fancies."

"I don't _fancy_ him." She scolded, striking a very scary resemblance to her mother just then.

"Ok whatever. Just don't call her anything but her name. _There_." He said, exasperated. "Now go play with your toys or something." And shut the door on his brothers gaping face.

When his parent's weren't around, James had been dignified with the title of honorary dad and the younger kids always ran to him with their problems. It was exhausting. Louis and Dominique had it so damn good, he thought, with them having been sorted into Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Sometimes he wished for the same, but not to rid himself of his family, but rather to stand out from his family. Aunt Fleur and Uncle Bill's children had been the only three to have been placed in a house other than Gryffindor – well except for his sister, Lily.

His cousin, Fred, came to join him at the door. "What was that about?"

James laughed. "Listen, how about we switch places for a little?"

"Yeah right." Mocked Fred, "You're mental if you think I'd want to deal with _that_ all day."

James sighed, walking over to his bed and picking up his jumper and trousers. Within minutes, Fred and him were walking down into the common room, tactfully evading Rose and Albus, and down the stairs. The portrait of the fat lady was singing in a soprano and her voice was audible all up until the Entrance Hall, where finally they were too far to listen any longer. The boys had their heads huddled together, separating when a Hufflepuff girl sheepishly waved in their direction.

"Which one's that one?" asked James, barely moving his mouth as he smiled back.

Fred, reflexively looking at his cousin for guidance did the same. "I think I snogged her a few nights ago."

James looked at him, "Really? She's not your best mate."

Fred shrugged, a roguish grin highlighting his dark face. "D'you want me to pull out the list? If I recall, you haven't had made the _best_ decisions either."

James stuck a hand out in surrender. "Steady on. Wouldn't want to do anything you'll regret."

Fred glared at him. The girl was soon forgotten until another one approached.

"I heard that whole thing." said Dominique, horrifically appalled.

"Cousin o' mine." Began James in a sweet voice, "How are you today in all your Ravenclaw glory?"

"Piss off." she snapped, her strawberry blonde hair whipping around. "I'm head girl you know. I can easily hand out detentions."

He crossed his arms over his chest confidently, "For what? I haven't broken any rules."

The smirk on her face made him wonder if he was too quick on the draw. "Well, I'm sure I can manage to make something up."

Fred sniggered beside him, making a strangled sound when James slapped his arm. Someone called her name and without a second glance, Dominique pranced off into the arms of a tall boy, whom even James had to admit, was rather fit. So it was only appropriate when Louis rounded a corner near them, Dominique whispering something to him and then glaring in the boys' direction, and walked over to them with Cassiopeia trailing behind him.

"You two look like you've seen a ghost." Louis stated.

"Not that it's an infrequent occurrence at Hogwarts or anything." Cassi pointed out. James laughed, catching himself off guard, and stifled it. The girl hadn't noticed though, she was busily staring off at something in the distance. Disappointment twisted in his stomach, but he quickly wretched himself out of it.

"I'm afraid it was worse actually." He said rather seriously, "It was your sister."

"You bloody areshole." Louis reprimanded yet failed to reach it's full effect because of the twitching corners of his lips.

{+}

James was leaning back on his seat, expertly balancing on the back legs as Professor Longbtoom delved into a rather important lecture on grindlyroots in the greenhouse. Usually, he'd at least try a little harder to feign interest, but this was just Neville, he had been around the house since he was born. He couldn't take Neville seriously, not that he would ever admit to it because it would probably ruin the perception of other students when regarding the professor as well. Scorpius was next to him, his back lazily leaning against his chair, crossed arms, and a signature bored expression on his face.

"How is this relevant to our lives?" he murmured under his breath.

James sighs and flops back down so that his chair is on four legs. "You never know when you might have to beat someone with a plant."

Scorpius raised a pale eyebrow and James's thoughts accidently drifted to the look Cassi had given him back in the train. He blinked, hoping that when his eyes re-opened she would stop seeing her face overlaying that of his friends.

"Like you, for example."

"Exactly." Responds James self-assuredly.

Neville looked in James direction, casting him a stern look before returning his attention to the class. James ruffled his black hair, catching some in the fist he formed. "So Louis and your sister seem to be good mates."

Scorpius tilts his head to the side slightly, in order to see him better. "Now's when you've noticed?" He says suspiciously, "They've hardly ever been seen apart in the past _five_ years."

James felt stupid for asking this and a part of him didn't even know why he suddenly cared. All he knew was that a small corner of his head was tugging at his brain for more information about this girl: Scorpius Malfoy's little sister. He couldn't quite identify the feeling, except for a determined curiosity.

"Oh." He glances sidelong at him. "I apologize for not feeling compelled to study my cousin as if he were a potions experiment."

Scorpius shrugs, looking towards the front of the class again. They were sitting somewhere near the middle of the room with two stretches of tables on either side filled with more students. This class was a combination of Slytherin and Gryffindor, an otherwise nasty duo if it had happened years ago. The two houses certainly weren't friends, not even a war could change that, but it seemed as if the people who had recently been sorted to Slytherin were a more decent sort; while not everyone that was sorted into Gryffindor was as compassionate and brave as others. James thought of his cousin Louis, and how he was one of the best people he knew – yet was in Slytherin. It was a true homage to the changes of the caste system at Hogwarts.

It wasn't long before boredom seized James, and for pure amusement rolled up a piece of torn parchment in his fingers. He threw it into the collar of Fred's shirt, who was sitting in front of him with a pretty brunette girl from his house. Fred jumps, throwing his arm back into his neck in alarm before turning around to send James a most lethal look. Scorpius lazily directs his blue eyes at the scene and sees James grinning like a loon. Deciding he wasn't in the mood to take any part in this, he turns away.

"Blimey!" Fred exclaims in a strained whisper. "What the fuck was that for?"

The brunette, trying very hard not to look but is soon too curious to resist, looks at James and he winks. Her cheeks fill with color, a mix between annoyance and interest resting in the smooth, round features of her face.

"Looking lovely today, Pettyfer."

Dianna Pettyfer smiles at him and says, "Thanks James," and then turns around, restraining a sheepish grin.

James leans back in satisfaction. He likes the effect he has on girls; it quite amuses him. He had nearly every girl in the school waiting in line to drop her knickers for him; and it just so happened that he didn't like having to make girls wait. He liked to think of himself as a very gracious sort of person. Of course, his little brother Albus was too young to know about any of that but if he did, he would disapprove of his methods just like his cousins do. James didn't mind it though. They were probably just jealous it took them lightyears to find a girl.

Professor Longbottom assigns some exercises as homework and soon Scorpius, Fred, and James are headed out the door and into the corridor.

"The lengths you take to talk to a girl." Fred said in exasperation as he weaves in and out of other students.

James shrugs, "She already wanted to talk to me. Roxanne told me so."

"Roxanne?" Fred inquired, "And why on earth would my sister want to encourage your abominating ways?"

"Speaking of…" interrupted Scorpius when a tall, dark girl came into view with a boy about her height roped around the crook of her arm.

"Dianna said you talked to her today." she suddenly stops and causes a boy to nearly walk into her before he angrily reroutes.

"Good news travels fast, doesn't it?" he said with an impish grin.

"Don't. Be. So. Cocky." Roxanne very carefully articulated the last word. "Anyway, I'll see you all at lunch later."

And with that she was walking off with her boyfriend, towards their next class. Roxanne and Fred were similar in personality: both were stubborn, hilarious, and tough as nails. Roxanne was better in Quidditch than her brother though, while Fred had a sharper wit than she did. They would spend days without talking to each other after a bad argument; once, they had spanned a total of three weeks without so much as looking at each other which was actually quite difficult considering the family was almost always together. That was when she found her boyfriend, Lenon. They were all surprised, especially Rose and Fred, because of how at odds they were with each other. While Lenon was a decent bloke, he was dim and brusque. People took his silence as strength, but Rose preferred to believe that he simply had nothing to say.

"Lenon was looking more dull than usual today." Scorpius drawled. James laughed, but Fred didn't find it very funny.

"You're lucky Lily isn't old enough to be dating yet." Fred told James as they reached his next class. "And when she does, make sure you never stop talking to her long enough for her to find some crap boyfriend."

James was still laughing as he waved at Scorpius before disappearing into the class with Fred.

{+}

"_Pssst_." Louis suddenly hisses from beside Cassi. She jerks upright, nearly knocking a quill over.

"_What_?"she demands.

"Kensington just finished talking about vampires and their…feeding habits, and ran straight to her office, looking rather green might I add."

Cassi groaned, "I missed that?"

"So you _were_ sleeping." He told her, the rest of the class chirping away in giggles at their professors peculiar departure.

"Not entirely." She said curtly. "I just needed a nap, that's all."

Louis raised a brow in skepticism. One thing he had never understood about his best friend was her incredible knack to absorb information without even appearing to be listening to the lecture. She was the smartest in their class and it seemed effortless.

Nichola and Poppy were sitting in front of them, laughing, and Cassi narrowed her eyes to slits. "I still don't understand how they're friends."

"Just because you hate everybody doesn't mean that Nic isn't allowed to be a touch more positive about the human race."

She hated the accuracy of his words. "I don't hate everyone."

Louis took her notebook and spun it towards him, doodling on the pages little creatures and figures at random. "Name five people you _do_ like."

"You." She said instantly, "Nic, Lorcan, Lysander…"

"That's four." He pointed out.

"And Jensen." She finished.

A new voice joined. "What about me?"

Jensen was behind her, his chest resting on his elbows as he leaned across the table to them.

"She's naming the people she doesn't hate, because she denies that 99% fall under the 'dislike' category." Louis informs him and then adds, "But we don't count, because we're your friends."

"Unfortunately." Jensen supplies with a roguish grin. "Sorry Cassi, I think he's right. We don't count."

"What about my dear cousin James?" Louis asked with a roguish grin.

Cassi groaned "Don't get me started with James."

Louis made sure she was looking and then raised his eyebrows in a silent challenge. She sighed exaggeratedly. "Ok, you're right. I _do_ hate everyone."

Louis smirked in satisfaction. "I'm always right."

"And I hate you for it." Said Cassi, crossing her arms over her chest like a five year old whom was denied access to sweets.

"Where does that leave me?" asked Jensen with big brown eyes.

"How did he even get involved in this conversation?" Cassi asked Louis, whom in turn shrugged and returned to facing the classroom. It seemed like Professor Kensington had gathered herself and was back at her desk, still looking a bit off-color. The rest of them reluctantly listened.

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><p><strong>AN: Please review (:**


	5. In the way

**In the way**

* * *

><p>Cassi welcomed the unfamiliar voices lining the long, wide corridor as she walked past small cliques to the library. Originally, her intentions were to complete her Potions assignment in the common room, tucked away at a desk in the furthest corner imaginable, but Poppy ruined that plan. It was funny how Poppy ruined absolutely everything. It was as if her presence alone was enough to transform Silver into the boiling lava of an active volcano. They weren't speaking loudly, now that she thought of it, but just the idea of them having a pleasant conversation was enough to throw her.<p>

She huffed and clasped her hands to fists. It wouldn't be the first time she had used those fists with Poppy Zabini. The overcast sky shone dimly through the arched windows, leaving dome-shaped beams of light on the floor ahead. It was quite damp this afternoon, for much of it was spent with incessant rain. She held on to the book in her hand, tightly with her fingers around the binding. She recognized some people as she walked, ignoring them without a problem. She wasn't in the mood for conversation. That was precisely why this was the best time to work on her homework assignments. Her anger always resulted in perfect grades. But if there was one thing she really couldn't stand, it was people standing in her way and that was exactly what James Potter was doing right now.

"Move it, Potter." She warned, standing directly in front of him without the slightest inclination to move first. He was in _her _way; he should move.

"Oh, Malfoy! Just as cheerful as always aren't you?" his face formed a sloppy grin, "You're like the sunshine brightly illuminating through this murky weather."

"And _you're_ bloody annoying." She sneered. "Now get out of the way."

He crossed his arms over his chest. "Why don't you just walk around me?"

She blinked at him. "Because _you're_ the one that purposely got in the way."

"And, why would I _purposely_ get in your way, Malfoy?" He feigned a doe-eyed look of bewilderment.

She held on to her book tighter, restraining the urge to shove him to the ground and walk over his fallen body. "_Move_."

"I don't like being pressured into doing things, Malfoy," he said with a sly grin, "especially not into moving when asked so rudely."

She leaned in closer, about to say something when she fell mute under his probing look. Just then, she realized how strange of a scene this must look to everyone huddled around the corridor. Cassi and James close enough to….

The thought hit her like a splash of cold water in the morning. She stepped back and then moved around him, carefully avoiding touching him in any way. A girl looked at her with a look of intimidation and revulsion. It was probably one of James's admirers; he had more than enough for it to not be a coincidence that one was standing nearby. The library was almost in front of her when she heard a voice behind her. She violently whipped her head, responding with a scowl. He raised a dark eyebrow and pushed his messy black hair off his face. The light outside hit his face at an angle and his eyes changed from blue to an almost pale gray, like streams of fallen snow.

"What do you want _now, _Potter?" she asked impatiently, although half of her never wanted to stop staring into those eyes…

He laughed, "I just wanted to talk to you."

"What?" she asked, taken aback.

He shrugged noncommittally , "Like I said: just wanted to talk to you."

"Why?"

"You're my cousin's best mate, and my best mate's sister." He pointed out so casually, that Cassi felt stupid for asking. "It only seemed weird that we'd never…spoken."

"We have spoken, Potter. But we don't like each other." she snapped, her voice cold and defiant as per usual.

He took a moment to answer, nothing changing the amusement in his face except for a flash of something in his eyes. "That's right. We don't. Well then, let's forget we had this conversation shall we?"

She watched him open the door of the library for her, and she crossed through unable to hide the surprise in her face. He walked off into the hallway, now shining with hues of pinks and oranges after such an ugly day. Once inside, she found Roxanne Weasley sitting alone and joined her.

"Hey Cassi." She beamed, looking up from the books in front of her.

Roxanne was in her year, but was a Gryffindor. She was nice, but not too nice; mean, but not too mean. She was just the perfect balance between the both. "What are you up to?"

"Potions." She growled.

"That's why I came too." She sighed, pushing her platinum hair off her face. "Or else I would've been expelled from school for murdering another student."

"Poppy?" she asked, not waiting for my nod to continue, "And I'm pretty sure you'd be headed more in the direction of Azkaban if you killed someone."

She laughed glumly. That was a sensitive topic for her, considering her family's history with the infamous prison. It always made her remember when her grandfather first came home from there, after twenty years of imprisonment. She could never forget the manic look on his face and the dull gaze of his eyes, almost entirely white from staring into nothing but utter darkness for so long.

Roxanne went stiff. "Sorry. Didn't mean to bring it up."

Cassi brushed it off. "So how far along are you?"

"Just a few months." She said, rubbing her flat belly.

Cassi pinched her arm. "Shut up! Don't even play around like that."

"Oy! Don't even worry about _that_." She said, just above a whisper. "Lenon and I haven't gotten that far yet."

"Didn't think you would've, considering Lenon isn't the most spontaneous boy out there.."

"I know, he isn't quite as exciting as other boys I've dated."

"Quite as exciting? That's like saying Voldermort wasn't quite as dangerous to other wizards."

She laughed. Although Voldermort would forever be a sullen topic for her parents and her friends' parents, the children quite enjoyed poking fun at him now that it was all over. Since they hadn't been the ones to experience his awful reign firsthand, now he was just another psychotic, power-driven, nut that was written into an excruciatingly long chapter in their textbooks.

"Alright, fine." She smiled, her white teeth luminous against her dark skin. "Always so blunt, you are."

"The day he stops and manages a four-word exchange with me – _just four –_ I will keel over, literally."

"I'm going to make sure that happens then." Roxanne promised. "And besides, he annoys Fred to no end, so that's extra incentive to stay with him."

Cassi laughed. That much she understood herself from years of finding ways to piss Scoprius off. It was a sibling thing.

A girl in the closest table to them had been glaring at them for the past fifteen minutes. They were speaking a bit too loudly to be considered appropriate for the library. But ever since the last librarian, Mrs. Pince, had died two years ago, the library wasn't as stuffy as it used to be. But of course, old habits die hard.

Cassi stared right back at her with a half-smile. The girl's eyes widened into little brown circles, and then narrowed. Cassi mimicked her exactly, and then waved. The girl's mouth dropped open in disbelief and she broke the gaze, standing up to collect her books and walked off without another look at them.

Roxanne was stifling her laughter. "You remind me so much of my cousin."

"Which one?" she asked carefully, dreading her answer.

"James. He's always playing tricks like that." She noticed the look on Cassi's face and added, "Big difference, though, is that he's a complete prat and you're not. Well at least not to me, to the rest of the school, I think you are."

"I'm oddly okay with that."

"Oddly?"

She stared down at the scrolls of empty parchment, and then back up at her friend's blue eyes. They reminded her of James for a moment, and she had to look away to distract herself. "Yeah, it isn't very odd at all is it?"

After having finished half of her Potions paper, Cassi was back in the common room, waiting for Nichola by the couch closest to the fire. The one she had threatened two kids out of on the first day. Like clockwork, Nichola was walking through the door at eight o'clock. She almost always settled down to get some reading done for the next day at the same time, everyday. Not that she ever got much done, since Cassi had figured this out long ago and would always persist she'd talk to her. She almost wondered why Nichola hadn't bothered changing the arrangement so that she wouldn't be interrupted, but then Nic was never one for change.

Cassi motioned for her to join her on the couch to which Nichola happily obliged.

"I haven't seen you all day today, Nic." She told her.

Nichola took a moment to answer. "I've been really busy, actually – lots to do, you know."

Just then, Poppy walked through the door and glanced in their direction, immediately rolling her eyes after seeing Cassi's suspicious stare. She heard Nichola sigh from beside her but didn't look at her until Poppy was well out of the way. A second year was sitting in a table by the stairs, looking small and entirely too innocent to be Slytherin. She recognized her as Lily Potter, from her bright red hair and shining brown eyes. She looked up at Cassi and smiled weakly. Cassi, not quite knowing how to respond, only raised her head in acknowledgement before turning back to her friend. "You were obviously with Poppy all day. Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because of this." She said tiredly, "You get mad. Which I don't understand why –"

Cassi leaned in and lowered her voice, suddenly aware of all the people around them. "You and I both know that Poppy is a sniveling little rat."

"No. No, she isn't." Nichola counter-argued. "That's how she _used _to be. She's different now, Cassi, really. We were out walking the grounds all afternoon, and even played Quidditch for a bit. If you would've been there, you'd seen –"

Cassi wanted to say it was because she hadn't invited her, but she never did like appearing to be needy. "I don't think so, Nic. I don't believe Poppy's any different from what I think of her now."

Nichola sat back against the dark green velvet, obviously upset with Cassi's stubbornness. "Whatever, Cassiopeia. Do what you want…you always do, anyways."

Now she really couldn't understand Nichola at all. Had she completely lost her mind? Was she really cross at her for thinking Poppy was a rat? Because she completely was. Nichola was only too blind to see it. She fought the urge to scream at her and tell her she was wrong. That she had never been more wrong in her entire life. But reason handicapped her, and she remained silent, staring into the burning embers of the fire.

A voice came from right beside her ear. "Meeting. Room of Requirements..fifteen minutes."

She didn't have to turn around to recognize who it was. She knew Lorcan's voice well enough, especially after five years of him whispering the same words to her. She stood up, not waiting or caring if Nichola had heard the same thing, and walked up to the door that led her out into the dungeons. The upside to Slytherin having their common down there was that nobody ever visited the dungeons. Not even Professor's who were out patrolling or even just going for a walk bothered. The dungeons, most especially at night, were creepy. The sort of creepy that sends shivers up and down your spine whenever you took a step into a sudden gush of cold air or the flickering of a burning candle. Cassi always compared the feeling of a solitary walk through the dungeons to a cemetery: eerie silence that was somehow filled by invisible occupants, although ghosts she could see and most weren't scary. But these invisible beings weren't ghosts. They were things that were only present in your mind, which was even scarier. It wasn't long before she was out in the entrance hall (thankfully, the common room wasn't very far from it) and she slunk back against a wall, blending with the shadows. The stone walls were rough against her back as she noiselessly sidled against it, rounding a corner and then separating herself from it. From there on, the chances of running into a Prefect or Pofessor was unlikely. She walked to a statue of a woman with a sad face and wild hair. She reached for the dagger in her hand and pulled down. The woman disappeared and a doorway appeared. She climbed inside and closed it behind her, feeling around the crevices in the stone for the one that would fall back…and then the statue was back in place.

There wasn't any sort of flooring here, because these hidden passages were meant to be, well, hidden. They weren't built with the intention of having students walk through here frequently. That, of course had changed a long time ago. According to the Scamander twins, his mother had travelled through here several times for meetings for a group Harry Potter had formed called, Dumbledore's Army. But that wasn't the first time these passages were travelled. Before that were a group of troublemakers known as the Marauders, who left a map outlining several other secret routes. Neither of us had said map. Louis had borrowed it from James once, since his father was the one in possession of it, and had managed to find this one at least. She had heard stories of the Marauders from Louis, who proudly boasted about his cousin's deceased grandfather as if he were the one to have defeated Voldermort himself. The story was quite tragic after the fun bits; but I couldn't help but laugh at the irony. That group was originally formed by Gryffindors, now it was the Slytherins reigning after them. It somehow showed how the separation between houses had slowly been dissolving after so many years of bickering and bad blood. After the usual time of darkness and quiet, she was in front of the portrait door to the seventh floor. The Room of Requirements would be just across the hall.

It was empty, so she ran towards the large tapestry with the dancing gnomes and shut her eyes tight, thinking of how she needed a place to meet, a place to see her friends and a door formed. She turned the knob and went inside.

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><p><strong>AN: Your reviews are amazing! Please keep them coming? (**:


	6. Meeting of Clever Minds

**Meeting of Clever Minds**

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><p>"Quite frankly, I think he deserves it." Scorpius said from his place beside a pretty Slytherin girl from his year named Kristen. It wasn't the first time Cassi had seen him with her and she wondered if there was something Scorpius hadn't mentioned to her yet. She decided she'd bug him about it later.<p>

"Me too." Agreed Benjamn, Scorpius's _incrediblyfit _friend.

"Okay." Cassi leaned in closer, darting her eyes from face to face but mostly settling on her brother for reassurance. "So we're going to sneak into Longbottom's office, plant the damaged seed into the pot, and once he uses the growing potion on it, it'll grow into a…what is it?" she asked Lysander.

His eyes shining with élan, he waved his arms around animatedly as he spoke. "It's a belladonna, or rather that's what Longbottom's going to think it is. It'll look like one as it grows, but then the leaves will decay and let out a putrid smell – that's when we put on these." He pulled a skin-colored triangle tip, no bigger than the size of his thumb.

"It adjusts to your nose." Louis says with just as much eagerness as Lysander. Plotting schemes always set the group alight. "My uncle created them when he was in Hogwarts. He used to set off a lot of stink bombs."

"Which is, essentially, what we're doing." Cassi reminded them. "Just a bit more clever."

"Brilliant." Jensen said from beside her. "So who's going to plant it?"

"Lysander has to go; since he knows the most about how the bulb works." Cassi pointed out.

"I'll go ahead and make sure the halls are clear." Offered Jensen.

"I'll keep watch outside the greenhouse then." Benjamn said, "Cassi and Lysander can go in."

Cassi nodded. "Scorpius, keep watch outside Longbottom's office."

Nichola was sitting next to Poppy, both with sour looks on their faces. Cassi nudges Louis and he looks over. "And what's wrong with you two?"

"There obviously isn't anything for us to do." Poppy said, narrowing her eyes at Cassi.

"You just weren't quick enough, Zabini." She smiled pleasantly, and the look on her face made that forced and painful pleasantness completely worthwhile. Poppy defiantly crossed her arms over her chest.

"So I was right." She heard Lorcan say from across her. "Nichola did seem more irritable this year."

Cassi knew it was wrong to laugh, but deep behind her throat she could feel the rumbling, the one that meant she was trying very hard to remain serious. After the proper preparations – their black robes for cover, wands, and bulbs – they all exited with Jensen, Scorpius, Benjamn, and Kristen leaving first.

Departing in the opposite direction was Poppy and Nichola, whom she felt more distant from than ever before. She bit her lip, distracting herself with the minor pain, and focused again on the group surrounding her. Once Jensen gave the signal, a forceful hissing, she and Lysander stayed close to the walls and ducked behind aging suits of armor and statues, finding anything that would offer protection. As they travelled further and further, they continued to follow the hissing of Ben's voice, until they were outside and in the clear. They wouldn't run into anyone outside. Ben still led the way, holding firm against trees and small hills. Finally, they were clear. Everyone was in position. Jensen was outside the Greenhouse and gave a thumbs up. Lysander followed Cassi up the steps, past Jensen, and to the back door.

"Alohomora." Cassi said in a rushed whisper. The door made a clicking sound. It was open. Luckily Longbottom hadn't take the precaution to bewitch the door of the classroom. She peered inside to make sure it was empty and then motioned Lysander in. It took them some time to find the plant that was sure to be the one Longbottom used in the lesson tomorrow. It was sitting underneath the bedraggled brown desk that sat in the middle of the glass-covered room. She smiled and pulled it up. Lysander took it, skillfully pointing his wand and mumbling a spell that formed a deep hole into where the original seed lay.

"Accio belladonna seed."

It shot up into his hand and he threw the replacement, fake, bulb inside. Covering the spot with dirt once again after a quick wave of his wand. She grabbed the pot and placed it back underneath the desk.

"Let's go." She told him, running in between the asile between seats and opening the door, grabbing Jensen by the wrist and pulling him away.

"Done?" he asked, letting himself be pulled by her, just like many of the others had done before – only trusting they were guiding you in the right direction.

She smiled back at him, beaming. "Let's just say, class is going to be a lot more interesting tomorrow."

And Cassi came through with her promise. The next morning, the period before lunch, Cassi and Louis were sitting from their seats, paying rapt attention to their Herbology Professor's lecture about mundane plants that are useful to wizards. He quickly went through asphodels and daisies, then circled around his desk.

"Next is the belladonna plant. It is essential that you recognize these plants." He began to say as he reached down, reappearing with an empty pot in his hands. "The essence of this plant is used in many potions, and nearly essential to your potion-making kit." He retrieved his wand and tapped the rim of the old pot twice, probing it to grow. And did it grow, indeed. One by one, stalks of green grew out of the dirt, each bringing a distinct smell to the Greenhouse. The Professor wrinkled his nose in distaste.

Cassi and Louis looked at each other, then reached for their nose plugs inside their robes and inconspicuously placed it on the tips of their noses. Lorcan and Lysander followed suit. Once the plant came into full bloom, the tips of it opened and released a gaseous, odorous substance, and then the room filled with frenzy. Students threw their hands up to their noses, some laughing while others were casting nasty glances at Cassi. Most already knew that when unusual circumstances like this occurred, it had something to do with Slytherin's notorious racketeers.

"Outside everyone!" Longbottom urged from his desk, waving his wand around for spells that would kill the plant or deactivate the smell. Cassi and Louis feigned some coughing, to make it seem like they were just as surprised as the rest of the class, and then followed everyone outside. Lorcan and Lysander were already there, reaching for their noses and stowing the triangular pieces away as they took a whiff of fresh, not-foul-smelling air.

Some of the boys walked over to them and clapped them on the shoulder, relieved that this would mean class was dismissed for the day. A few girls did the same, but then some looked rather upset and snarled.

"That was brilliant!" Louis said in just above a whisper. "Now we're free to do whatever we want until lunch."

Cassi smiled, "It was for the good of the students, you know."

Soon, the Scamander twins and Jensen were at their side, also congratulating each other for a job well done. "How long do you think until the rest of the school finds out?" asked Jensen.

Cassi saw some of the boys running back towards the castle. "I reckon not very long at all."

She heard giggling from behind her and turned around to see Nichola. Not the Nichola she had argued with before, but the one that she remembered. The one that enjoyed these things, regardless of how stiff she could be at times.

Cassi threw her arm around her shoulder. "That was perfection. And really simple, too."

Nic agreed, stifling her laughter when the professor came outside with a frazzled expression. "Class is dismissed, I'm afraid. Go on to the library and work on er...other assignments, please."

They waited until he was safely back in the Greenhouse and all ran back to the castle, smiling and overwhelmed with satisfaction. There was nothing comparable to the adrenaline rush from pulling a successful prank. The blood pulsing through your veins felt warmer, your heart felt stronger, and you felt like you could do anything, anything at all. Which wasn't exactly true because Lysander once believed he could fly without a broomstick. He was in hospital for a month after that stunt.

The group sprinted across the halls, up the stairs, and into the seventh floor to their usual meeting place. Lysander stood in the front, imagining the same vision the rest of them had learned to do and a door appeared.

Cassi plopped down on an old, abandoned couch and let her head hang back on one side, while her legs hung off the other. "Now if only we could do this to all our stupid classes. Then, we could just sit here all day."

Louis walked up to her, pretending to sit on her stomach when she pulled her hands out and pushed him off. He laughed and sat on the floor instead. "I'm hungry."

"I know you are." Said Lorcan from his spot near the window. "They're all over your head."

"What is?" Louis asked with interest.

"The wackspurts." Cassi interjected, rolling her eyes when she knew Lorcan couldn't see.

Louis raised his eyebrows, "Oh, those."

They were there for a few moments longer, until they heard a small noise come from behind a broken suit of armor. The axe dangling down off it's arm with a small, pale hand grabbing it on the other side. Cassi put her hand to her lips, motioning the others quiet, and gently stood to walk over to it. She reached for the hand, grabbing the wrist, realizing how small it was, before pulling it into view.

It was Lily Potter.

"Lily?" Cassi asked, confused. "What're you doing here?"

"I –" she fumbled for words, looking at Cassi as if she were awe-struck. "I usually come here sometimes."

She got down on her knees to look at her better. "Were you dodging class?"

Lily looked down at the floor, her cheeks reddening. She _was_ skipping.

"Lily, you know that isn't right. Slytherins are meant to be top of the class, remember?" Cassi said with a proud smile, "You should be top of the class."

Lily looked around, her blue eyes wet with the threat of tears. She ducked her head again, this time looking down at Cassi's hand over her wrist. Cassi released her, looking up into her round face. "I…can't….go to that class."

"Why not?"

"They…they pick on me."

Cassi's gray eyes narrowed to slits, "Who does?"

Lily looked uncomfortable. She didn't want to say it and Cassi wouldn't force her. After all, regardless of her unfortunate relation to James Potter, which like Louis, wasn't at all her fault, Lily _was_ a fellow Slytherin and one that Cassi actually liked.

"Whoever it is, they don't deserve your time. You tell me when you're ready, and I'll take care of it."

The ginger pushed a strand of thick straight hair behind her ear, finding newfound interest in the rest of the people in the room staring down at her. "What are you all doing here?"

"We just pulled the best trick ever, Lils." Louis told her, smiling. "But I bet you already know that if you've been standing there…._eavesdropping_."

"I wasn't –" she began to say, her eyes widening to saucers when Louis laughed.

"He's only joking." Cassi told her reassuringly. She noticed the time on her watch. "It's nearly lunch time. Why don't we all go down and eat? Then we can figure something out to get you going back to class." She noticed the panic in Lily's eyes and frowned, remembering how much everyone had said the young girl looked up to her, "You know, if you ever want to be a part of our group, you've got to be exceedingly smart and clever. Which means, there's still a lot to learn in your classes."

Lily still looked worried, but the corners of her eyes crinkled in a smile. "Alright, let's go."

{+}

The Great Hall was mostly empty by the time they'd arrived. Lily trailed behind the Malfoy siblings.

"What was that all about?" Scorpius said into her ear, low enough so that Lily couldn't hear.

Cassi's shoulders rose in a noncommittal shrug. "She seems like a nice girl. Plus, remember all the times we would get picked on because of _our_ family….circumstances?" She frowned, "A Potter sorted into Slytherin – I'm quite surprised her family haven't disowned her."

When she looked up at her brother, a head of inky black hair caught her attention from the other side of the room. James Potter was sitting with Roxanne and her brother. He had one eyebrow raised and was most likely being his annoying self considering Roxanne had her face in her palms. Fred, on the other hand, was laughing, even brushing away tears from his eyes. James tilted his head away from his cousins and in a jolt of an instant, met Cassi's eyes from across the room. Cassi's breath caught, and she jerked her head forward, desperately hoping he hadn't noticed. Why was she even staring at him? She couldn't bring herself to comprehend the sudden attention she was paying him. It was ridiculous. She shook her head, as if to forget the thoughts and it seemed to work for a minute.

Lily hesitated as the group sat down. Louis turned around, his face non-threatening and curious, almost like a child. "And what're you standing there for?"

The small girl looked at her cousin with earnest interest and shrugged, "I—"

Louis stood up, grabbing her by the waist (which caused an uproarious set of giggles from her) and set her down next to him. "Now, I'm hoping you'd tell me about what's happening with the other kids in your classes."

Lily looked so small and vulnerable next to him. For all Cassi had ever known about Lily, she was a timid little thing. It almost made her wonder how she had managed to get herself in Slytherin in the first place. She seemed to be a better fit somewhere else, perhaps Hufflepuff.

"It's in Potions…"she began, her voice careful and poignant.

"Double Potions isn't it? With the Gryffindors?"

She nodded her head curtly, swallowing back a lump in her throat. Her blue eyes half-lidded and unsure. "They d-don't like that I'm Slytherin."

Louis narrowed his eyes dangerously, but subtle enough as to not scare his cousin. "Who?" he looked around the table at the second years. "Is it Aiden again?"

Aiden was a second year Slytherin, and he was known to be quite the bully, especially to Lily. Louis and Cassi had theorized that he had a secret crush on her, but sometimes he took it too far.

She shook her head, "It isn't…it's not the Slytherins bothering me."

Louis's mouth fell open, his eyes darting up to Cassi's to see if she had heard it, too. Cassi bent lower. "The Gryffindors then?"

"They're saying I can't be my father's daughter…A child of his would never…would n-never be sorted into Slytherin." Her voice was wobbly and she sniffled.

Louis laid a gentle hand on her small back in what he hoped to be a soothing gesture. "Have you told James? Or Fred?"

"No, not yet."

No one else could tell how angry Louis was, but Cassi had known him long enough to know that when his jaw set and his lips pursed, he meant business. His otherwise handsome face looked too hard, somehow. Like if it didn't belong there. Cassi had always thought that Louis looked different from the rest of his family, excluding his older sister Victoire (whom was pure Veela in beauty and grace). They all resembled each other with similar noses and eyes, but Louis looked distinctly different. She could only describe it as him looking more French than the others.

"I'll talk to him later."

Lily looked up at him with pleading eyes, "Promise you won't say I told you."

"Promise." He told her, giving her back another back before letting his arm fall back to his side.

Cassi wondered if Louis was upset at his cousins for not noticing what was happening to Lily. But then again, they wouldn't would they? They were in separate houses after all; meaning they never had classes or free time together. Not like Louis, who saw her in the common room more than once a day. She chanced a glance at James again. His blue eyes were pointed straight at her. She couldn't hold the gaze for longer than a second, and looked down, cheeks reddening. She inhaled deeply, trying to get a hold of herself. She shouldn't be reacting this way.

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><p><strong>AN: Like it? Please review (: Hope you all have a lovely week x**


	7. The Forthcomings of a Lie

**The Forthcomings of a Lie**

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><p>James was with Albus, walking side by side back to their common room but not without passing through the courtyard to waste time.<p>

"Who do you think Lily writes to so often?" Albus asked him. James was only about two inches taller than him, and he knew that within another year he would be somewhere around the same height.

James shrugged, his hands in his pockets, "Probably Teddy. You know she's really attached to him."

Albus paused in thought. It was strange the way Lily had reacted to the news of Victoire and Teddy going out. She had shut herself in her room for days, refusing to leave except for when Roxanne would go visit and take her out for ice cream. Aunt Hermione was completely torn for days. She even had to get Teddy to come and talk to her and sort things out. Everything was better since then, but sometimes he could still see the sadness in LIly's eyes whenever Teddy and Vic were together, holding hands or simply talking. It wasn't normal. "Yeah, probably."

Footsteps came from behind them and James turned around, instinctively reaching for his wand. Things were quite peaceful now, but he could never really forget the stories his father had told him. A familiar blonde came into view, his stride quick and hasty.

"In a rush, dear cousin?" James asked him with an impish grin.

Louis looked back between the two of them and shook his head. "It's creepy how you two look alike."

James scrunched his face, "We do not. Take it back." He threatened with his wand.

"Put that away." Albus rolled his eyes. "He'd be lucky if he looked like me."

"Excuse me, but _i _wouldn't look like _you. _I was born first. _You_ would look like _me."_

Louis could tell that this would turn into a long conversation if he didn't put an end to it now. "There's something I need to tell you, but you can't make a big deal out of it."

Albus narrowed his green eyes. "What is it?"

Louis waited until he was directly in front of them, smiling at a girl with black hair as she passed. "Lily's being bullied around by Gryffindors…second year."

James took a step back, a disbelieving look on his face. "No, she isn't. She hasn't told us anything about it."

"She's been dodging Double Potions because of it. We found her in the Room of Requirements today, hiding. Who showed her how to get in there anyway?" his eyes drifted suspiciously towards James.

James gave him a _don't change the subject _glare, "What do you mean 'we'?"

Louis sighed impatiently, "Cassi and me."

James felt something strange turn in his chest, like if a palm-sized rock had been thrown at him and he'd swallowed it. "And what were you two doing in there?"

Louis stared at him. "It wasn't just us. There were a few others, too. But that isn't the point!"

"It may not be _the _point. But is it _a_ point."

Albus looked as if he were considering the sentence. "That doesn't make sense."

"It does if you don't think about it."

"Can you two just bloody focus for a minute?" Louis begged, immediately grasping their attention. "You've got to find out who the hell it is so we could kill 'em!"

"Whoa there, Slytherin." James mocked with a funny voice. "We're not killing anyone. I'm Prefect remember? I'm obliged to detain these things from happening. But I _will_ find out who it is, and perhaps hand out a simple detention. Would that suffice?"

"Week's detention?" he asked, still mutinous but feeling better now that James had gotten serious about the matter. It always paid off having a cousin as a Prefect.

"Four days is the best I can do. Then I'll mistakenly lead him into a dark, empty classroom, where you'll be waiting with a wand at the ready." He winked. "Perhaps an axe, if you prefer hand-to-hand combat."

Albus wasn't quite sure if James was serious or not, but when Louis laughed, he felt relief drift off his shoulders. "James. You're the absolute worst Prefect this school has ever known."

James looked down at his badge, glistening in the twilight. "I'm afraid I do not have the grounds to counter-argue, Albus. And with that being said, what were you doing in the room of requirements, Louis?"

Louis couldn't tell him about the meetings. He knew that they were responsible for most of the 'accidents' that went on around school, but not all of them. After all, family or not, James had another obligation to the school and he wouldn't want to stand in the way of it. "None of your bloody business." He parried.

There were times when James tried to figure out what it is about Louis that had placed him in Slytherin. And then there were times, like this one, where just the undertone of malice in the pleasant cheeriness of his voice seemed to define what being a Slytherin was all about. "Defensive? All right, if you don't want to tell me about the hidden love affair-"

Louis waved his arms out in front of him, "James, you know it isn't like that. Cassi and I, we're just friends. That's it." His arms fell and he wore a quizzical look, "Either way, I'm sure Scorpius would kill me."

"Probably." Echoed James, utterly having forgotten about Scorpius.

"So, when are you going to find out who's bothering Lily?" Albus probed.

A fuzzy insect circled around James's head, and he tried to parry it off. "Er - I'll have to talk to the Potions teacher about it."

"Makes sense." said Louis with a grin. "You're going to slap yourself in the face if you keep at it."

"Not that we'd mind." Albus added.

James's crosses his arms over his chest, casting equal parts of a glare at the pair of them. With friends like these, who needed enemies?

{+}

"Did you hear about what happened during Herbology for the fifth years today?" Roxanne was telling anyone who was interested enough to listen, which turned out to be most of the occupants within the confines of the common room. "Apparently someone swapped the Belladonna plant he was using for demonstration today….the most foul smell _everywhere_. They still haven't been able to get rid of it."

Fred laughed, "It must've been another fifth year." He carefully eyed the ones in the room, "Speak up, then."

One of the boys shook his head, "It wasn't during our period. It was the Slytherins."

"Why would the Slytherins poison their own classroom? They're the ones that would have to smell it after all." Fred wondered.

"And it would get class cancelled." James pointed out. "Professor Longbottoms brilliant, but he's dull as hell."

The room agreed. Roxanne crossed her arms out in front of her. "I think the Slytherins were quite callous about it; the poor man."

"Whatever the cause, at least we know no one's going to be stepping in there for at least a week." James said.

Everyone watched James with clear admiration as to what he would do next. Would he step up and solve the problem himself? Unfortunately, James didn't feel any motivation to take this into his own hands. "I'm sure McGonagall's already got the little snakes corralled." He liked referring to the Slytherins as snakes, because it only made sense. That was the animal that represented their house, and it so accurately described them all as well. He had to of course, refrain from using it in front of Louis, Dominique, and Lily.

{+}

Professor Kensington, their head of house, had Scorpius and Cassiopeia in her office. Professor Longbottom was sitting to her right and the Headmistress to her left.

"I wouldn't usually make any assumptions about these sort of things." Began McGonagall, her voice flat and vacant. "But with your record, I'd say it's almost obvious as to who was responsible for swapping the Belladonna."

Cassi crossed her leg over the other, her arms resting on the sides of the chair. "The plant was swapped?" she asked innocently, "I thought that Professor Longbottom had made a mistake and taken out the wrong plant."

McGonagall's eyes dangerously narrowed to slits. If there was anything that scared Cassi at this school was the Headmistress and her stern temper. She didn't have to yell, but one look from her was enough to get Cassi confessing to the whole thing. "Mr. and Ms. Malfoy, I ask again: are you two responsible for what happened in Professor Longbottoms classroom earlier today?"

The other Professors in the room leaned in closer, intently watching their faces for any sort of changes of emotion. They remained impassive. "It wasn't me." Scorpius said before looking at Cassi, "And she was with me last night, in the library."

McGonagall knew it was them, but without proof, there wasn't anything else she could do. "If anything else goes wrong this week, or rather this entire term…." She didn't finish, but the set of her jaw was enough to know it would result in vile consequences. "You two may go."

On their solemn, or what they pretended to be solemn, walk back to the dungeons, Cassi noticed that there had been quite a few students lingering by the office. Some were Gryffindors, surreptitiously glancing at the siblings as they walked off. Cassi turned her head, letting it rest on her shoulder as she watched a little boy in the front cower under her eyes. They were curious and petrified, all at the same time.

"Cunning." Scorpius said to the door. The serpent-shaped handle turned to open and Scorpius twisted it to catalyze the process.

The entire common room was filled to capacity as they entered through the door. Lorcan was the first to approach them, his eyes unfocused and searching for something that wasn't there, as per usual. "What'd he say?"

"It was McGonagall, really." Scorpius answered, looking smug as the room cooed in bewilderment. "Longbottom just sort of, watched."

"At any rate, he couldn't prove it was us." Cassi continued for him, making her way to the center of the throng and earning herself every look in the room – just how she liked it. "Why weren't any of you asked about it?"

Lysander was beside her now, his tall, lanky figure towering over hers. "We're never much help, really."

"They say we're always a bit off." Lorcan finished, his tone sounding far, far away.

Cassi pat him on the shoulder, a comforting one that hid the nature of what she really thought about the Scamander's perpetual dream-like state. Most of the Slytherins were awestruck with their little group, and the secrets of their tricks always remained a secret with them. Even the Prefects kept quiet, but they always did enjoy a nice stir to the strumming normality of school sometimes.

Dominique was standing by a table near the fire. She had her head raised in suspicion at her younger brother. It was her last year here, and she feared that without her guidance, Louis would become too influenced by the Malfoys. At the Slytherin common room, they might be regarded as popular and admirable, but to the rest of the school they were nothing but the children of the worthless wizard who had conspired to murder the great Albus Dumbledore. It took some time, even with their fellow Slytherins, for them to earn some respect. Because to the Slytherins, Draco Malfoy was a treacherous little rat, who chickened out of a promise – regardless as to who that promise was for.

Dominique held her chin up. Never mind her arrogance, because Dominique was Dominique. She was proud and smug and felt like she deserved the world – which is exactly how she would always get what she wanted, and right now, she wanted Louis and Cassi to split up. Her face broke into a devious smirk. Now, why hadn't she thought of doing this before?

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><p><strong>AN: Reviews make me happy x**


	8. New Professor

**New Professor**

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><p>Lily was in her dormitory when Dominique came rushing in, a gust of brilliance and smiles. "He got the job!"<p>

Lily raised her head in anticipation. "Teddy?"

Dominique nodded excitedly. "He's going to be our Transfigurations professor!"

Lily was beside herself in happiness. She jumped out of the bed, dropping her textbook, and threw her arms around her cousin's neck. Dominique hugged her back.

"When does he start?" she said, pulling away.

"Tomorrow." Her heart was nearly falling out of its cavity. Her hands were shaking, in a good way, and she felt as if her knees were going to give way.

"Dominique." She smiled, "I'm so happy." She allowed herself to admit. Teddy: the _almost_ cousin that she missed so much that sometimes, she felt as if her heart would stop beating. The one that filled her up with such a rush of warmth and tingles that she never thought it would ever end – that is, until she had left to school a week ago. _Her Teddy._

Dominique watched her cousin flush, as a million different emotions crossed her face at once. Of course she agreed with James and Albus when they said Rose had an unhealthy obsession with the man, but she hadn't seen Lily so happy all week and she couldn't find it in her heart to discourage her. "Off to bed then." She instructed, helping her back in bed and picking up her fallen textbook. She set it on her nightstand. "You'll see him tomorrow, Lils."

Lily watched her leave the room, her heart pounding underneath her nightgown with triumphant thuds. All of her begging and letters had finally worked. Teddy was coming back to her tomorrow, and they would spend everyday together – and every one of those days was a day less that he would spend with Victoire. The very thought sent a grin climbing up her face.

{+}

The more James heard about how the Greenhouse has become off limits and unusable for the rest of the week, the more he heard about how Cassiopeia Malfoy and her group of racketeers were behind it all. He had seen her around a few times since then, and every single time, it felt as if he couldn't resist the pull of gravity to her. It was almost automatic. Whenever he noticed a spot of platinum hair, his eyes drifted toward it. Once it hadn't been her, but for the most part, it was. He began to notice the tension in her jaw when she walked through crowded areas, the furrow in her brow when she was talking to Louis during meal times, the cloudy gray of her eyes that looked like there was always a thunderstorm brewing behind them. Just her appearance drew unwarranted attention, because despite everyone's opinion of the Malfoy's, no one could deny they were beautiful. Of course, he didn't think of Scorpius that way, because he was a guy. And that was just weird. But he had heard, on more than one occasion, too, that he was considered quite fit by the girls. Just as Cassiopeia's name had been mentioned in groups of boys when they gathered to talk about girls they'd like to…do things with (to put it nicely). James, although never denying her beauty, restrained himself from partaking in any sort of anything that involved sex and Cassi.. She was Scorpius's little sister. It was mostly out of respect for his friend.

The aforementioned boys were sprawled out in a messy circle, laughing and teasing each other. William Thomas, a tall black boy that James had known his whole life, was laughing the hardest after having been jeered for his manic ex-girlfriend. "Oi! I'm not the only one that's had lapses in judgement." He said with a wicked smile, "James, would you care to re-visit your fling with Nichola Nott?"

Some of the boys shook their heads disdainfully, mumbling exaggerated condolences. James only pressed his back against the wooden frame of his four-poster bed, smirking mischievously. "She's a bit mad, alright. But I got what I wanted. It's not like I talk to her anymore."

They laughed. "She's fit." Said one of the boys, "But completely insane."

"Is she good in the sack?" another boy asked before he broke off in uproarious laughter. The boys were so loud now, they had to begin shushing each other to make sure no one in the other rooms could hear.

"I wouldn't mind the madness, if she weren't such a bitch." Another boy said, half frowning and half laughing.

"What else could you expect?" said a ginger perched on the bed. "I hear shes's close with Cassiopeia Malfoy." He finished expectantly.

William tittered. "The Ice Queen."

"She looks the part." Said James, distracted with the vision of her nearly-white hair and porcelain skin.

"She's a bit scary if you ask me." said Henry Patil, who's been known to have been involved with maybe one girl in his entire seventeen years of life; and no one ever got to meet her, so they couldn't figure out if she was ever real or not. "She's so deathly serious all the time. It makes me wonder if it's really her behind those pranks."

"Of course she is." said James with a smirk. "Sadism doesn't exactly run dry amongst the Slytherins."

James had made his point. The group nodded their ascent before changing the topic to the Quidditch tryouts this weekend. He suddenly remembered that Rose had told him Teddy had taught her class today and left his friends. He walked down the stairs and into the common room. Roxanne and her dull-as-a-wall boyfriend were conveniently shielded against a crimson tapestry, where the light wasn't as bright. Then James noticed that the candles had been purposely put out. He had to hold down the baby barf travelling up his throat.

Being the obnoxious cousin he was, he took the liberty of traipsing over to them. He smiled, "Need a light there Roxy?" He lumos-ed a spark at the end of his wand. The candle was lit now, and he could see that Roxanne had her legs wrapped around his and was watching James with slitted eyes. She would get him back for this, he knew that; but it was still entertaining.

"Have fun, you two. Always a pleasure, Lenon."

Lenon didn't say anything. But of course, James hadn't expected him to either. He avoided Roxanne's glare as he turned around and whisked off towards the door.

This year was going to be tough for him. He hadn't had the opportunity to take on a free period, like most of his friends had. Instead, his parents had insisted that he fill his schedule with enough classes that would ultimately help him decide on a career. The very thought of his limited time at Hogwarts stressed him out. He preferred not being stressed out. But of course, more classes meant more N.E.W.T's and that wasn't fun either. As he walked downstairs, he could smell the food from the kitchens, dinner must almost be ready. He decided he'd make this trip quick. If it were up to him, he would've just waited until his next Transfigurations class to see his adopted cousin, but Rose had insisted and he could never find it in him to disappoint her.

He was on the third floor now, looking from door to door until he found the Name Theordore Lupin elegantly engraved into a metal plate on one of them. He knocked, and waited for the lock to click open.

"Cousin o' mine." James said in a pleasant voice.

"James!" cried Teddy from behind his desk. He had been scribbling something down when he walked in, and had hastily shoved it in his coat pocket. "So glad you're here."

Teddy was very young, only twenty years old and so he was still easy to get on with. He hadn't adopted his parents' seriousness. Not that they weren't fun; they did have their moments. It just seemed like there was always something weighing them down.

"How was your first day Professor Lupin?" he smiled, not waiting for an invitation to sit down.

Teddy grinned sheepishly, "Not bad, I think. The younger kids seemed to like me. I think the tough ones are going to be anyone higher than a fourth year."

"Don't take it personally." James leaned in, "I'm almost sure they'll give you a hard time, but only to gauge you, really."

"Gauge?" Teddy snorted. "Well, I was hoping you'd put in a good word for me."

James considered this, tilting his head to the side with careful deliberation. "I suppose I could."

"That'd be great." He grabbed a handful of paper and clipped them together. "Still organizing all of this." He said after James's inquiring gaze. "Rosie helped a bit earlier."

"She's really excited you're here you know."

"I know." Teddy said, keeping his eyes conveniently fixed on the mess on his desk.

James lifted his feet up on the desk, precisely in front of the spot Teddy seemed so interested in, and leaned back on the chair. "How's Victoire handling the eh—seperation?"

He looked at him now, with the same thoughtful brown eyes he's known his whole life. "She isn't thrilled, to be honest. She doesn't like that I'm not allowed out of school until the students get their holiday." He frowned, his face always looked older than the average twenty year old, "But at least Neville's here…I mean…Professor Longbottom…so I have someone else to talk to." He set the papers down, "And all of you, of course."

James nodded, "Yeah it takes some getting used to." Teddy raised a brow. "I meant, the calling Neville by his last name thing."

Teddy laughed. "Just like you've got to start referring to me as Professor Lupin now, James."

James made a face. "Too professional-sounding. I don't think I like it."

"Ah," he said with a wave of his hand, "But you'll have to. I'll start calling you Potter from now on if it makes you feel better."

"Actually, it doesn't."

Sometimes, Teddy couldn't tell if James was kidding or not. He had this way of making the truth seem like if it was only pleasant banter, and, how could you ever take it as something else? "You know, I've already been warned about the trouble students."

James sat up a little at this, dropping his feet back to the ground. "Was I one of them?"

Teddy peered past the books he was organizing at James. "They mentioned you, but you aren't as bad as this group of Slytherins that have apparently taken it upon themselves to singlehandedly destroy the school."

"The one with the Malfoys?" He spilled out, quickly wishing he could suck back his words, chew them, swallow, and lets the acids in his stomach destroy them.

Teddy nodded, but not without looking bewildered.. "I don't understand it. I was looking at their records, the both of them, and they have exceedingly high marks – Cassiopeia especially. She's at the top of her class."

"I've heard that." James said attentively, urging him forward. Again, he really _must_ focus on sounding less interested.

"You don't hate them or anything do you? Because I know that their father wasn't the best of –"

"I'm good friends with Scorpius." James interrupted, immediately easing the worried crease between Teddy's dark eyebrows – it was almost impossible to ever erase it completely. "His sister, though, she's a tad bit harder to get along with."

"You don't have to be friends with them." he said blithely, "Although its brilliant that you are friends, with Scorpius I mean. Just so long you don't spew their family history in their faces and things like that. Your dad wouldn't like it."

You could count on Teddy to umbrella an otherwise casual conversation with a shower of anxiety. "I know he wouldn't." James said defensively. "And I wouldn't do it either way."

"I know you wouldn't." Teddy corrected, "Sorry, that came out wrong."

Silence followed. James sighed and it carried around the room. "Well, at any rate, I should get going. Dinner should be ready soon."

"Right of course." Teddy agreed, feeling awkward. "I'll see you soon?"

"Yeah, sure."

{+}

Lily is walking through a corridor on the fourth floor, shuffling with the other students as they make way to their next class. Her red hair is as bright as a sudden flame erupting from the monotony of browns, blondes, and black. She's gotten quite used to the attention she receives from people, after all, it's been three years that she's been receiving the same compliments over and over. It wasn't until last year, when she turned thirteen in November – she was much older than everyone else in her class, mostly because her birthday landed on such an inconvenient date – that boys began to notice her more. Lily wasn't quite ready for boys though. Not when there was only one that mattered, really. Teddy was everything she needed.

She felt something catch her hand through the moving streams of students and looks up to meet the careful brown eyes of the only boy that ever occupies her thoughts.

"Teddy?" her face brightens, and Teddy thinks she's more radiant than the sun. For a moment, he forgets he's her teacher.

"Fancy a walk?"

Her grin widens and her cheeks begin to feel sore. "Yes." She tries to lace her fingers with his but he pulls away and she follows his retreating figure. They walk in silence for a while, until they reach a shortcut on the sixth floor that would take them to the Owlery. Her insides are busting with pleasure. He wants to be alone with her.

He walks a little more until he takes a seat. The air above them is humid and the sky is a murky shade of gray. Owls screech as they're settling into their perch or getting ready for flight. Lily strides over and sits close to him.

She's bright and awake and fresh, like flames lighting everything she touches on fire with life and vitality. Teddy doesn't know what it is about her that has signaled her out as his favorite from all the rest, not that she would ever tell them of course.

"How are you?" he asks her, watching her face flush pink.

"All right." She says brightly. "How are you?"

He twists at the waist to look at her better. "Okay, thanks." His face is twisted in worry. "Except, I heard that a few of the Gryffindors are picking a fight with you."

Lily's head falls, her shoulders slumping down in defeat. "I knew I shouldn't have told anybody."

Teddy's confused; he had heard it directly from the Potions Professor. "Who did you tell?"

Lily squares her shoulders, "No one." And then slumps them again. "I don't know what else to do, Teddy."

Her voice is so soft with sadness that something inside his chest deflates, like a hot air balloon being deprived of oxygen. He gathers her into his arms and lets her head fall into his chest, like many times before. "I like being Slytherin, you know. They've accepted me." she mumbles into his jacket as he rubs her thin, tiny back. "But the Gryffindors, they think I'm a traitor and it's not like I could help it. The Hat chose it and they're acting like it's all _my_ fault!"

She pulls away, irritably wiping at her cheeks. Her straight red hair fell like a curtain around her face, shielding away the vulnerability in her face. Teddy reached for her hair and tucked it behind her ear. Her lower lip was trembling as if she were trying terribly hard not to cry.

"Well, it is your fault." He said, remarkably at ease.

She looks up at him, her pretty little mouth misshapen into an 'o'. "_Teddy."_ She says angrily, the tears prickling in the corner of her eyes even more now.

"No, let me finish." He says, wiping a stray tear with his thumb. His presence alone was nothing but strength and sweetness encompassed into one soul. "You were Sorted into the Slytherin because the Hat looked into the very depths of your mind…and soul." He poked her in the stomach and she smiled, begrudgingly. "You were meant to be Slytherin and there's nothing wrong with it. It's a part of you, but it isn't who you are." She was in rapt attention now, her lips slightly parted as they always did when she was engrossed with something. Teddy felt a small tinge of satisfaction that, most of the time, that something was him. "You're Lily, and Lily…well, she's brave, smart, sometimes even a bit of a trickster." The edges of her pale pink lips were twitching now and he smiled. "And a whole lot of other things that make you Lily Potter, not Lily Potter the Slytherin."

He heard a ruffle and then her arms were slung around his neck, craning his body down towards her. He laughed, anchoring her back so she wouldn't be crushed underneath his weight. "Feel better?"

She nodded in his shoulder, ruffling the sharp, ironed angles of his jacket. "I'm glad you're here Teddy."

"So am I, Lils." He smiled, breathing in the flowery scent of her hair. "So am I."

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><p><strong>AN: Please review? (:**


	9. The Family

Chapter 9

**The Family**

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><p>Different smells filled the Dining Hall that night. Cassi had filled her plate with mashed potatoes and meatloaf, the smell and taste soothing her hungry stomach. But there was a void that the food couldn't seem to fill.<p>

"Have you heard anything from father since we've arrived?" she asked her brother. He was sitting next to her, scarfing down a mouthful of potatoes.

"Not yet." He shrugged, "Doesn't surprise me though. They won't make contact until they've found out our grades have lowered or we've destroyed the school."

She sighed loudly, "I suppose you're right. So which shall we do first?"

"Destroy the school, naturally."

She laughed. As far as she was concerned, Scorpius was more her father than her own parents were.

"You didn't save me a seat?" A dismal voice said from behind them.

She hadn't even noticed that Louis was late. She had been so concentrated on the owls swooping in and out, desperately clinging to her very last thread of hope that one of her parents would write. She looked at the boy next to her. There was a solid amount of distance between him and the person on his other side.

She straightened her back and let her shoulders fall. "Excuse me, but you're being very rude."

The boy jerked his head in her direction, his eyes oogling in surprise she was talking to him. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me. You've got more than enough space to move, _and_ give my friend here a spot to sit." She informed him.

The boy opened his mouth wide in disbelief. "You can't – who do you think you are?"

She blinked. It wasn't the first time she had stirred this sort of reaction. "You're worst nightmare?"

It was so cliché, but she'd always wanted to say it. She watched as his face twisted into an even deeper pool of confusion. Was it that difficult or was the boy just an idiot? "Just scoot over, or I'll tell everyone you sleep with a fluffy, pink pygmy puff."

"But I don't –"

She pulled her wand and gave it a gentle, surreptitious flick. "You do now."

He was outraged, but wouldn't argue any further. He begrudgingly made room for Louis, whom was trying his hardest to resist laughing in his face.

"Worst nightmare, really?" he feigned disappointment. "That's the best you could do?"

She's busy fighting Scorpius for the last carrot and insouciantly responds with a smirk. "Step away a bit, I can practically smell the jealousy pooling around you."

Louis is gathering up an argument when Lysander points a pale finger at his face, inches from his nose. This catches Cassi's attention and she lets Scorpius have the last carrot. He's puffing his chest and about to gloat when he too notices Lysander. Cassi scoots closer to Louis, and stares at the tip of his finger for any abnormalities. Everything seems fine though. The abnormality must be somewhere in his head.

At a loss for words, Louis simply prompts, "Um?"

"Um, indeed." Lysander argues, brining his finger back to his own face, and proceeding to touch the tip of his stubby nose with it.

"You aren't picking other people's noses again, are you?" Cassi chimes in good-naturedly.

He isn't much affected by her accusation. "That was only for a week during our first year."

Louis puts his forehead in his palms, probably lapsing back into that dreadfully embarrassing time in his life. Not that he was a nose-picker, but because Lysander had asked him – on more than one occasion – to examine the boogers of another student. Cassi was proud to declare that she hadn't taken part in any of this, except for maybe when she had corralled some students for him and deceived them into thinking they were giving away free jelly beans.

"Ah, a delightful week that was." She nudges Louis in the elbows and he shots her an injured look.

"A girl told me that I had a little nose, strangely small for a boy, and that it reminded her of something she would notice in the effeminate boy in our class." He finished with a look of hard concentration, his blue eyes darkening, and seemed only curious rather than affronted by her statements.

Cassi felt her temper flaring. This was something that warranted a good defense or perhaps an inconspicuous hex, but Lysander was too naive to notice it. But then, something clicked in her head and she was finding her laughter hard to contain. "Louis?" she asked through a series of incredibly ungraceful hoots of laughter. "Louis is…" she trails off, unable to speak through hiccupped gasps for air.

Scorpius is just about to break down as well, but finishes for her, "Louis is the effeminate boy in our class?"

Lysander seems slightly put off by all of this. He didn't find it very funny that he was in possession of a 'girl' nose. He wanted a 'man' nose.

"Fuck off!" Louis says to the laughing Malfoys with a baleful woe. "I'm not," he cuts himself off, "I'm a manly looking man!"

His attempts at redemption are only making this is all so much more hysterical for Cassi. None of them seem to realize they have earned themselves the attention from a few others in the Hall.

A voice behind her startles a moment of sobriety in her, before she's only snickering and trying very hard to keep from snorting.

"Louis, why are you shouting about being a manly _looking man_?"

The way James says it just throws her off again, and she's lost in another fit of giggles. – all the while oblivious to the image of James looking down at her with a fond grin.

"Melissa Bradley thinks Louis is effeminate." Lysander points out.

James is beginning to understand why Scorpius and Cassi are practically choking on their laughter. "Well, now that you mention it." He casts him a considering glance, "No wonder people always mark you and your sisters as being the loveliest in the family." He smiles with mischief, "It's because you're just as pretty as them."

Louis is so furious, James can practically see the metaphorical steam blowing out of his girly ears. He bites back a smile. That was an inappropriate thought, wasn't it?

Dominique is passing by, evidently finished with lunch, and suddenly stops. "What's going on here?" she asks with a personal affront.

Her voice makes the small hairs on Cassi's neck rise. Whenever Dominique forced herself into their conversations, it always ended badly for her on some account; she simply wasn't in the mood. She whispered she'd be right back to Scorpius and lifted herself off the seat, and turned around to walk when she realized that James had been behind her. The moment she was up, they were facing each other, only inches away. His eyes were wide with shame and she felt hot in the face, suddenly feeling breathless, and shoved past him when he made way.

She shook her head as she walked, inexorably flummoxed. Just before she was going to walk through the grand doors, she noticed a girl with a shade of darker blonde for hair, falling straight to the midpoint of her neck.

"Emmy?"

She turned around, but instead of seeing excitement dancing in her brown eyes, she saw unexpected fear. Taken aback by her cousins' reaction, she pushed on, "I thought you weren't meant to be back for another two days?"

Emmy was standing up beside her, standing a few inches shorter than Cassi. "Oh Cassi." she breathed, "It's dad – he got into a really bad accident playing Quidditch and he's in hospital." Her voice cracked near the end and she pitifully threw herself into Cassi's arms, who seemed to be unable to cope with this new wave of information.

Uncle Roger had graduated Hogwarts and gone on to become a Professional Quidditch Player. Fame soon followed and now he had been the most talked about player of the decade. He was playing his last tournament this season, before retiring, and the international tour wasn't meant to be finished for another two days. Emmy had missed the first month of school for that reason. She couldn't bear miss her father's farewell tour.

Cassi, unsure of what to do, put her arms tightly around her cousin and pat her back gently. "Em, he's going to be fine." But of course, how would she know that? That was just the best she could come up with under the pressing circumstances.

She began to notice the curious glances from the other Ravenclaws sitting in her table and gently led Emmy out into the Entrance Hall – hoping to escape the prying hands of developing gossip.

"Mum told me it was best to just come back to school – to get my mind off things." Emmy declared hopelessly, tears freely falling down her cheeks now. "But I can't, Cass. He hasn't woken up for three days now."

"Wait," Cassi broke her off, "He's unconscious?"

Emmy nodded, "It was a rather bad fall, you see. It was the last game of the season and they were all getting rather rallied up. A quaffle came straight through, to his head, he fell off his broom and on his way down, he was struck by a beater who had mistaken him for a quaffle."

Cassi drew in breath, unable to escape the horror of the situation.

"The fall was about 400 meters."

Cassi's mouth felt constricted, and not even her muscles could move and wrap Emmy in the bone-crushing hug she so desired. She couldn't even imagine how miserable her cousin must be.

"Cass," she wept, "I'm not sure if he's going to make it."

That sent a pang of awareness through her frozen muscles and snapped her out of her trance. Immediately, she hugged her again. "Don't talk like that Emmy. He's going to be fine. Your dad's going to be just fine."

"How d'you know?" she asked as she helplessly sobbed into Cassi's shoulder. "The healers, they've tried everything and nothing works!"

"Shh." Cassi cooed, her hand soothingly combing through her hair. "Uncle Roger, he's strong."

"I know." She said with a sniffle.

She didn't know what else to say, so instead, Cassi patiently waited for Emmy to compose herself. As they stood there, both wrapped around each other as if one of them would disappear at any moment, the Hall was emptying and students were casting them suspicious glances. The first one she paid any attention to was from Louis, who hastily pulled at Scorpius's arm. He mouthed the name 'Emmy' to her and she gave him a curt nod, so as to not disturb her. The room was clearing out and there were only a few stragglers. Scorpius was still looking at her, uncertain of whether it was the appropriate time to approach her or if he should wait until later. Louis looked confused and James was beside him, watching too, with an undecipherable tilt of his head. For some reason, his gaze held the most weight, penetrated through her like jilted knives and she turned her head away, letting her face rest on the graceful angle of Emmy's delicate shoulder.

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><p><strong>AN: It's summer, I've got time off, and I'm back to writing this! Hope you're all still reading xx**


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